Abstract

Given the low volume, high-risk situation which necessitates Epinephrine treatment in anaphylaxis, gaps in knowledge and practice were observed, resulting in error. A hypothesis was developed that nurses educated prior to 2000 would have a gap in administration knowledge, leading to error potential. This project was designed to identify those gaps and develop education to address them, leading to best practice and enhanced patient safety during a low volume, high risk emergency. Epinephrine is a high-risk drug,in that concentration differs according to diagnosis and has previously been expressed in ratio format, leading to confusion and error. Since the early 2000's, when the route changed to intramuscular(IM), there has been little specific education about the change targeted just to nurses. IM Epinephrine administration in the lateral thigh increases plasma concentration levels exponentially over IM deltoid or subcutaneous administration and should be implemented.

Author Details

Joyce Foresman-Capuzzi, MSN, APRN, CCNS, CEN, CPEN, CTRN, TCRN, CCRN, NPD-BC, CPN, AFN-BC, SANE-A, EMT-P, FAEN , Megan Buckley, MS, Lisa Eckenrode, DNP, MBA, RN, TCRN, EMT-P, John Capuzzi, BSN, RN, TCRN, EMT-P

Sigma Membership

Eta Beta

Lead Author Affiliation

Lankenau Medical Center, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, USA

Type

Poster

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Quality Improvement

Research Approach

Translational Research/Evidence-based Practice

Keywords:

Anaphylaxis Treatment, Epinepherine Administration, Patient Safety

Conference Name

Emergency Nursing 2020

Conference Host

Emergency Nurses Association

Conference Location

Virtual Event

Conference Year

2020

Rights Holder

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All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Poster

Additional Files

Abstract.pdf (33 kB)

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Epinephrine in anaphylaxis: Assessing knowledge gaps in administration and strategies to mitigate error

Virtual Event

Given the low volume, high-risk situation which necessitates Epinephrine treatment in anaphylaxis, gaps in knowledge and practice were observed, resulting in error. A hypothesis was developed that nurses educated prior to 2000 would have a gap in administration knowledge, leading to error potential. This project was designed to identify those gaps and develop education to address them, leading to best practice and enhanced patient safety during a low volume, high risk emergency. Epinephrine is a high-risk drug,in that concentration differs according to diagnosis and has previously been expressed in ratio format, leading to confusion and error. Since the early 2000's, when the route changed to intramuscular(IM), there has been little specific education about the change targeted just to nurses. IM Epinephrine administration in the lateral thigh increases plasma concentration levels exponentially over IM deltoid or subcutaneous administration and should be implemented.